About Toronto Wireless

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

BlackBerry Apps for the Blogger

Alright, so you finally did it. You started your own blog - Congratulations. Let your voice be heard, let your words ring true. Let the world know of your great discoveries; a new, innovative invention, a moving musical composition or even the three month old slice of pizza lying beneath your couch (at least it looks like pizza). Whether it is informative, adventurous, NSFW or just plain witty, your blog is your own and you should love it and live it. Say it loud and say it proud. Just don’t use caps - that’s just annoying.

Besides trying to get past writers block or even trying to decide what to actually call your blog, you should decide how to manage it. Do you honestly want to spend all of your time sitting at home or in a WiFi café sipping java, updating others about your sedentary life? Or, do you want to be out in the world, living and posting until you thumbs wear down to stubs? Good! Stubby thumbs it is then. To keep you happily blogging and posting, here is a collection of apps you can use to manage your blog. If you like them, maybe you can post something about them.

With this collection, I tried to cover a far amount of blogs you can use. Some prefer something of their own creation - their own design. Others make use of Twitter, Facebook and similar sites, as their main blog.

Say cheese

Perhaps some of you out there like to post reviews of applications, share humorous or embarrassing BlackBerry Messenger chats or even odd device errors. The best way to get the story across is with a screenshot. They do say a picture is worth a thousand words. If that’s the case, maybe I should have stopped this article at the first image. Recently, I’ve been snapping screenshots with SnapScreen. Using this application is quite smooth, especially if you assign it to a convenience key. You capture the image, choose a filename and even email it off, all within seconds. It’s especially good at dealing with camera shy applications. SnapScreen is available for $3.99 until May 13th.

Your photography needs may go beyond what’s happening on your screen and rather to what’s happening around you. I know it’s hard to pry your eyes away from your BlackBerry, but just bear with me. vPost is a great way to capture what’s happening in multiple images, videos or audio clips and email them or post to your blog or favourite social network. You can also geo-tag your media files (Google Maps and BlackBerry maps are supported). vPost is available in both a free version (named Vayyoo) and a premium version for $9.99.

When you have something to share with your readers, family or friends, you want to share it right away. You want them to see important moments as they happen. Qik has been working hard on offering live video streaming with their BlackBerry application (works with both WiFi and Network). You can also share your videos via Youtube, Facebook, Twitter and many other social networks. Videos and streaming can be set to public or private. You do have to set up a free Qik account to get started; the Qik application is also free.

Took the words right out of my mouth

The name WordPress is synonymous with blogging. Wordpress.com has been capturing the thoughts of its users since late 2005. The websites owners have also made a mobile application, WordPress for BlackBerry, available. WordPress for BlackBerry helps you keep your blog updated, by enabling users to edit pages, as well as upload posts and media. Now you can keep your fellow linoleum fanatics up to date with your latest find. WordPress for BlackBerry is free.

Another option to look out for is CellSpin. This application also helps you post blogs, as well as new and existing media to Wordpress.com, but also covers other sites such as: LinkedIn, Google Blogger and Live Journal. CellSpin allows you to email the same content to contacts at the same time. CellSpin also has other applications that focus on one type of media; for photos only, use Photo Spin, Audio Spin for audio file, etc. Personally, I say forget the individual apps - stick with CellSpin, which costs $2.99.

Their, they’re and there. It’s pretty embarrassing when you tell someone “Your an idiot”, only to be reminded that you should have used “You’re” instead. I’ve been caught once in one of my articles before and my heart sunk; something so simple could easily cause your face to go read (or is it red?). Rather than hauling around a dictionary with you, put one on your BlackBerry. I’m not talking about the spell check we all use; I’m talking about Shorter Oxford English Dictionary. This application squishes 20 volumes of the popular dictionary into the size of 2 volumes. You’ll be able to figure out which words to use by understanding various terms (i.e. literal), phrases and dialect. You can also learn proper pronunciation. Shorter Oxford English Dictionary is available for $49.99.

Cowering from Criticism

Don’t be too upset if someone doesn’t agree with what you are saying. Then again, if an angry mob arrives at your door step demanding blood, you may want to rethink the direction of your blog. Reply Storm will get you connected to those who will offer feedback on your site. The opinions from visitors to your site then arrive via email; with the most perceptive being pointed out to you. TheReply Storm application is available for $5.99.

File management

There are some things that you do want to do on your computer versus your BlackBerry. Perhaps you wanted to edit some media before posting them. What if you didn’t have a data cable, micro SD card or SD card adaptor? Bluetooth, maybe, but options are always nice to have. FileScout is a favourite, when it comes to managing files on my BlackBerry. If I ever get careless with where and how I store documents and media, I can turn to this application to help me create directories and move the appropriate files. You can even zip and unzip files too. FileScout costs $6.99.

You need to work on a computer, but aren’t able to access one. You could turn to Documents to Go, on your BlackBerry. The standard version should already exist in your applications folder. If you want more functionality, you can try the premium version. Docs to Go Premium allows you to create new files, rather than only edit saved ones. You have greater access to various fonts, characters and formats. Docs to Go Premium will cost $49.99.

If you wanted a hard copy of an article or an image that you’re particularly proud of, then print it. Is it on your BlackBerry? Rather than emailing the files and printing them from a computer, Remote Print enables you to do it wirelessly. It saves time and allows you to produce copies quickly, if need be. Remote Print is available for $7.99.

With these applications, you should be amply equipped to spread your thoughts and ideas to everyone who will read them. If you’re using something else other than the apps listed, don’t blog and complain that they weren’t named; leave a comment.